Questions
by katiekayx
Summary: Follows 3x18, Bloodlines. Lincoln has more questions than answers, and that leads him to Olivia's door, hoping for a resolution. OneShot, Leeham. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fringe, or any of the characters. I just like to play with their personalities every now and then ;)  
><strong>Pairing: <strong>AltLiv/Lincoln  
><strong>AN: <strong>Spoilers up to 3x18, Bloodlines. I've been in love with this pairing since we were introduced to the Alt!Team, and now everything I love about them is kind of considered canon! This is a one shot, and I hope you enjoy it! Please review, I'd love to hear from you.

* * *

><p>There was no getting around it. He was angry. He was angry at her, he was angry at himself. He was just so <em>angry<em>. The entire situation was just out of control. He didn't know what to think anymore. He was second guessing everyone and everything, and that's not what he needed right now. He needed some stability, and he thought she was the one person he could count on, but he couldn't, apparently.

He was angry at her for just abandoning the team, and for doing it so easily. It was so easy for her to just slip into someone else's life and play a part, like she wasn't capable of _feeling_ anything at all. He was angry. It shouldn't have been so easy for her to do that. While he didn't know that he _knew_ the other Olivia, now that he knew the truth, he wondered if she had done the right thing, if the Secretary had done the right thing. Was all this worth it? Was it worth it to ruin someone's life like that? To erase their memories and try to make them think that they were someone else? They were going to kill her once she found out who she really was.

Was it worth it that his Liv had nearly died giving birth to the Secretary's grandson? Was that really worth all the shit they were going through? There must be something special about this baby. He knew there was. It was Olivia's son, so he naturally felt protective, but he was still angry.

He was mostly angry at himself. He was angry that he could never tell the difference. And even though he wasn't supposed to, he felt bad for the other Olivia. He thought she was having a breakdown. And she was, and rightly so. He didn't think it was right, what they were doing. He didn't know how long he could keep this up before his conscience started to eat at him. He was mostly angry, though, that he couldn't tell the difference between his Liv and their Olivia. He had to refer to them with different names in his head now, and he hated it.

He almost wished he could go back to a time before he knew all of this. Multiple universes happened in movies, not in real life. But now he was fully involved. Head of the Fringe Division and prepared to take on everything. But was he really? He suspected that there was a reason that Broyles had put him in charge all that time ago, but he didn't want to analyze it. He just wanted to do his job, and do what was right. Right now though, those seemed like two things that were completely different.

The matter at hand consumed him, though. Liv had a baby. A baby boy, in fact, and one that she had named after him. Henry Lincoln Dunham. When she had told him, he felt so many emotions that he thought for a frightening moment that he might cry again. He didn't. He still had so many questions and was so angry with her for not _telling _him anything, but during that moment, when he had been with her while she had given birth, he had forgiven her for everything. When he thought he might never see her again, never hear her laugh or see her roll her eyes at him, he forgave her.

He had meant what he said. He loved her, he did. That was part of what made him so angry. He loved her, and had for so long, that you'd think he'd be able to tell if she had been replaced. He had just carried on as if everything was normal, believing everyone that had told him that she was just emotionally fragile. He had known deep down that something was wrong, but he had just chalked it up to the after affects of her breakdown, like everyone kept saying. Charlie had been right the entire time, and he had just dismissed one of his closest friend like his opinion didn't even matter.

He was angry and he knew that he should go somewhere and cool off, but he felt like he needed to do this. If he couldn't have any answers for some of the million things that he wanted to know, he needed an answer for this.

He was at her apartment. He knocked, and she had the door open in seconds, and before she could say anything, he was pushing his way inside. "Is Henry here?"

"No…" She said slowly, still holding the door open, "He's with my Mom. What's with you?"

"I have to talk to you." He said firmly, and he could tell she was confused, hell, he was confused too. That was the entire point of him rushing over here. To confront her. To get answers. To finally, _finally_ figure out if something in his life was real.

"Okay…" She was saying everything slowly, cautiously, as if she were afraid that the wrong word or the wrong look could set him off. She had dealt with him when he was like this before, but it had never been directed at her, and that was throwing her off.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He blurted, and she physically take a step back. "Why didn't you tell me _anything_, Liv?" He asked her again, desperation lacing his voice.

She looked around, trying to find something to look at that wasn't him. "I couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell anyone."

"You just… you just left us. And you did it knowingly. That's the thing. She apparently didn't have a choice. She was a prisoner."

"So you're siding with her now?" She raised her voice at him, not able to believe was she was hearing. She didn't hate Olivia. She even had her doubts about her mission and how the other Olivia was coping picking up the pieces of her life now. Everything was just so messed up, and something about Lincoln showing pity for a different version of her made her chest clench.

"Dammit, Liv. No! I'm not siding with her, because I thought she was you! I was worried about you, not her, and now I don't know what to think, and I just can't…" He trailed off and ran a hand through his messy hair.

It was silent. Just his harsh breathing could be heard in the room. It was unbearable. He took a step towards her and she took another step back, until her back was pressed against her front door.

"I couldn't tell you, Lincoln. I couldn't. I was under orders."

"I'm your commanding officer now, Olivia." He said, and she flinched when he used her full name. He hadn't called her that in a long time. Definitely not since the switch had been revealed. "So when I ask you a question, I want an answer. An honest one."

"We are not at work right now, Lincoln." She said, just as firmly, her eyes flashing up at him in anger.

He let out a breath and took another step forward. "I meant what I said to you when Henry was born."

She sucked in a breath and shut her eyes briefly.

"Look at me," He said, "Please." His head was swimming. He had forgotten all the well thought out questions he was going to ask her, and instead, was running on pure emotion. This was dangerous territory.

She looked up at him, and he moved closer to her. They were only inches apart now. "I had just learned that you weren't here for weeks. That I couldn't even tell that you were gone. And then you were pregnant, and _he's_ the father, and you were dying… It was all happening at once."

She nodded, she understood. Things were moving way too fast. Including her pregnancy. She had thought that she was going to die as well, and for a few moments she had been the most scared she had ever been in her life. Somehow she had gotten through it, and she knew it was partly due to the fact that he had been there.

"What does Peter being the father have anything to do with me and you?" She asked, and immediately regretted it when she saw the tick in his jaw that he got when he was angry.

"I told you I love you, and you're really going to ask me that question?" The tick in his jaw was moving furiously and she had the strangest urge to reach out and touch it. She didn't.

"Linc…" She said quietly, and when she didn't, he threw his hands up in defeat.

"I don't know what to think anymore, Liv! Nothing is real anymore. Everything I know about the world is wrong. There's another universe! How am I supposed to react to that? Oh, my partner was replaced by someone who looks just like her, who had her memories implanted into her brain, and then proceeded to have a breakdown, which I just ignored and let the doctors deal with, only to find out that she _wasn't_ my partner, who was in another universe, living someone else's life, sleeping with someone else's boyfriend and then almost died because of it."

Olivia cringed when she heard it put so bluntly. "Lincoln." She said again, softly, but he appeared to not hear her.

"It isn't normal. None of this is normal. You almost died in my arms, and I told you I love you, and I need to know if that actually _matters_ to you after all of this."

"Of course it matters Lincoln, I just-"

"I know you have feelings for him. I know it. Henry wouldn't be here if you didn't." He tried to calm down, "I just need to know why. Was it just part of the mission for you? Or did you want to? Was it real for you?" He shouldn't have asked that. He didn't want to hear the answer. He was seriously contemplating jumping out of her apartment window, when he heard a small sound. She was crying. "No… Liv, no. I'm sorry." He said immediately, even though deep down he wasn't. At least she was showing some emotion about all this. Maybe she was starting to feel some of the stress that he had been feeling for days.

He reached out and took her hands, and led her to the couch in the middle of the room. They sat down and he pulled her into his arms, ignoring her protests that she was fine.

"Talk to me, Liv. Please." He begged her, and when she looked up into his bright eyes, she knew she needed to be honest with him.

"I loved him." She said honestly, and saw a look of hurt flash across his face. She hated herself for putting it here. "I did love him. I just… it started out as a mission but turned into more than that. And I shouldn't have let it."

"So what are you going to do?" He asked her, and she noticed that his voice was a little shaky.

"What am I going to do? I don't know. Nothing, I guess." She said, and she was aware that he hadn't let go of her hands yet.

After a long minute of thinking, Lincoln knew that being angry with her wasn't going to solve anything. "I still have a lot of questions, you know." He said, and before she could protest, he held a hand up to stop her. "I do love you. Don't doubt that, even when I'm angry with you. Even though I said it at the absolute last minute doesn't mean that I regret you knowing it now."

She shut her eyes for a second, letting his words wash over her. She felt like, deep down, that she could love Lincoln. If she had enough time to adjust to whatever her life was going to be now that she had a son, she could love him. "I'm going to need your help with Henry, you know." She said, a small smile on her face.

He let out a laugh that sounded like it was more full of relief than anything else, "I told you, Liv. There's no place else for me to be."

They both stared at each other when he said the same words he had spoken to her before he confessed his love to her. His smile slowly drifted off his face and he leaned towards her, her doing the same. "Linc…" She said quietly, and he looked into her eyes.

"Shh." Was all he said before their lips connected. She didn't want to sound cliché, but there was a definite spark there. She had always been curious before, when he had kissed her when she was with Frank, what it would have been like to kiss him for longer than a few seconds. Wanting her own share of questions to be answered, she pulled him closer.

He felt her arms go around his neck, and he let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't pushing him away, and she was deepening the kiss. All he could feel was her, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her half into his lap. He was kissing her long and passionately, like he had always dreamed of doing, and she was responding with equal fervor. He couldn't believe it.

They pulled apart, both panting in the quiet of the apartment, but neither of them moved away from each other. They were still tangled in each other, their foreheads resting against each other's. "Liv…" He said slowly, trying to gauge her reaction.

"I want to be happy again." She said, and he frowned, a concerned look written on his face. "I need you to help me try to be happy again." She clarified, and he smiled.

"I can do that." He brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and brought her hand up to his lips. "I can do that." He repeated, softer this time.

"Good." She said, smiling at him. Things were looking up, she thought. They both had a lot of questions left unanswered, but they knew, that with at least the question of "them" answered, they could try to move on.

**END.**

* * *

><p>What do we think, Fringies? Please review :)<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, I did some thinking and decided I would add another chapter to this. This will most likely be the last installment, but if I end up writing more, this will turn into just a collection of one shots, does that sound good? So here we go, part 2 of Questions.**

**Also, going to respond to some reviews, thank you both for reading!**

**Jill Cohen – **I don't doubt for a minute that the entire reason that Walternate is so concerned about the baby is because he wants to use it to his advantage to get Peter back in the red!verse. From what we know about Peter, I know he's going to want to be a father to his child once (if) he finds out about it. I think it's really complicated though, because AltLiv won't let anything happen to that child, and I don't think Lincoln or Charlie will either, so if things get too out of hand, it will be interesting to see how their relationship with Walternate will change. I'm very excited for the next season though!

**KageOkami-Kogo – **Thank you so much, that's so kind of you! I really appreciate you reviewing; I'm reading something of yours too that I love! x

* * *

><p>It was 2am. Lincoln hadn't slept, and he was sure that Olivia hadn't either. Henry was a feisty one today. With the amount of screaming and crying he had done during the day, you'd think he would have tired himself out, but he hadn't.<p>

"Can you help me for a minute?" His thoughts were interrupted by Olivia walking into the room, Henry in her arms. She was bouncing him up and down on her hip as he whimpered, just minutes shy of erupting into more cries.

"Yeah, of course." He followed her into Henry's room. The last couple of weeks had been strange, to say the least. He wasn't sure where their relationship stood, despite the fact that he was almost living at her apartment. It hadn't started out as a romance, even though they had kissed. He had been helping out with Henry a lot, as had Charlie, but Lincoln was always the one that Olivia had called when she got overwhelmed or needed a few minutes to herself.

She had told him that it was stupid of him to stay until the early hours of morning and then go home and get ready for work, so he had started to keep a change of clothes and a toothbrush at her place. Soon after that, he had several changes of clothes and had taken half of her shelf in the bathroom.

Things were comfortable, though, and he was thankful for that. They didn't have much time alone, so their relationship wasn't physical. Stolen glances and small pecks on the lips were all that he was given over the last few weeks, but when he thought about it, he wouldn't trade it.

"He won't stop looking like he's about to cry. I can't figure it out. He's not hungry, his diaper is fine… I think he's overtired." Olivia said, snapping him again out of his thoughts.

"Here, let me have him." He said, and as Henry was dropped into his arms, he took a minute to look at Olivia. She looked exhausted. She rubbed her tired eyes, and looked back at him, smiling softly.

"You're staring at me."

He smiled back, "Yeah, I am. So what?"

"So, nothing." She said, and moved closer to him, looking down at Henry, who was close to being asleep in his arms. "If I didn't know any better, I would think that he likes you better than me." She teased, and he chuckled.

"He just likes his adoptive Daddy, don't you little man?" He spoke to the baby, and couldn't help a smile from forming when Henry's tiny hand reached out and grabbed a fistful of his shirt.

"He's got good taste." Olivia said, and Lincoln smirked at her, his blue eyes twinkling. Olivia watched Henry a bit more, thinking about how much things had changed since that night in China Town. She and Lincoln were closer than ever, and now that she thought about it, she had barely thought of Peter. Obviously, she couldn't _not_ think of him when she looked at her son, but now, seeing Lincoln and Henry together, she couldn't imagine someone else helping her to raise her son.

"Don't let Charlie hear you say that…" Lincoln said, smirking, "He still likes to think that he's the little guy's favorite."

"Well we'll keep that a secret, okay?" Olivia joked, and Lincoln couldn't help himself. He leaned in a few inches and pressed his lips to hers slowly, and smiled when he felt her melt into the kiss. There was something extremely intimate about this kind of kiss. When the two of them were so close, and the baby in between them, and they were doing everything that a conventional mother and father would do.

They broke apart slowly and Olivia rested her forehead against his. "I don't think I'll ever get used to how that feels." She said quietly, while taking the now sleeping baby out of his hands and putting him back in his crib.

"How what feels?" Lincoln asked, leaning against the doorframe as he waited for her to put the blanket over Henry.

She joined him back at the door and took one of his hands in hers, as his other hand found her waist, pulling her flush against him. "How it feels to be with you. Like this. It's different, but I like it." She said, shrugging.

"I like it too." He said, smiling as she leaned up to kiss him, "A lot." He finished when they broke apart.

"A lot, huh?" She teased, smirking at him. She leaned in and kissed him again, and he felt a different sense of urgency in this kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even closer, if that was possible.

They kissed for a long time. Each one of them pouring emotions and sentiments that they were too scared to say out loud into the kiss. Lincoln had turned them around, pushing Olivia against the doorframe, when they finally broke apart for air. "I love you." He said breathlessly, leaning against her.

He didn't expect her to say it back. He just knew that he was going to say it to her every night, as long as she let him. Life was too short. You have to tell the people you love that you love them. As he knew (too well for his liking), you never knew when their last day on Earth would be.

"Did you hear me?" She asked, and he blinked.

"What? No, sorry."

She looked down at the ground, a strange expression on her face. "You're really going to make me say it again?"

He snorted, "Liv, honestly. I didn't hear you."

She took a deep breath and released it, her auburn bangs flying off her forehead. "I said I love you too, but thanks so much for listening to me when I talk."

He ignored her sarcasm and let out a laugh before picking her up and spinning her around. "Olivia Dunham, you softy!"

"You're going to wake him up!" She said, but she too was laughing, and it was the most wonderful sound Lincoln had ever heard.

He didn't know what was going to happen. He didn't know what the Secretary had planned, or what this baby meant to him other than just being his Grandson. He knew he didn't trust him, though, and that he would give his life if it meant saving Olivia and Henry. He had never said this to her, and knew she would protest if he tried to, but deep in his heart, the decision was already made.

Now he was here, with the woman he loved, who loved him back, and they were raising a baby. They were raising a miracle baby. "He's fine… you worry too much." Lincoln said, and he set her back down. She didn't let go of his hand as she walked out of the room, pulling him behind her.

"I see no reason for you to sleep on the couch again, do you?" She asked, and he grinned.

"You mean you're going to grace me with your presence for the entire night?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "its morning, Linc."

"Ah, but tomorrow's Saturday," he said, as he scooped her up and carried her to the bed, "So we can make up for the nighttime that we missed." He winked at her, and she rolled her eyes again, but couldn't contain her smile.

"What have I gotten myself into?" She asked, more to herself, but he laughed all the same.

"Admit it. I'm the best thing that ever happened to you." He whispered, looking deep into her eyes before kissing her.

Things were changing, all around them. But he was confident that if there was one thing he needed to hold on to, one thing he needed to be stable, it was her. Them.

He didn't have any questions about them anymore. And for that, he was grateful.


End file.
